That`s the buzz. And as long as the best-seller ''LaToya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family'' (Dutton, $19.95) keeps flying out of bookstores, it`s likely to keep buzzing, despite LaToya Jackson`s unequivocal denials in a phone interview from London recently. She blamed photographic lighting for her fair-skinned appearance.

But for legends like the Jacksons-each famous face a master of stagecraft in his or her own way-the reality has always been harder to discern than the made-for-media image. Often, that image has seemed decidedly non-African, and the Jacksons are cited as examples of what one sociologist calls ''the bleaching syndrome.'' Born of self-hatred, rarely acknowledged, the phenomenon is particularly troublesome among movie idols and superstars who are widely emulated by young people, experts say.

Revealing photos

Both Michael and Jermaine have had plastic surgery to alter their wide noses. Michael has made no secret of his new nose-or chin, for that matter. In a picture promoting the Jacksons` 1984 Victory Tour, Jermaine`s nose is visibly narrower than it used to be, and his skin looks ghostly and washed-out.

The same with relatively recent photos of Michael, compared with earlier photos-his ''Off the Wall'' (1979) album cover, for instance. Rumors have persisted for years that Michael has done something to lighten his skin, despite repeated denials. In his 1988 autobiography ''Moonwalk,'' (Doubleday, $12.95) he specifically said he has never used such plastic surgery techniques as dermabrasion (where skin is sanded off), or chemical peels (where skin is burned off) to make him look lighter.

LaToya rats on Michael

LaToya offered an explanation for Michael`s appearance last week, and it`s a new one the family hasn`t mentioned, confirmed or denied before:

Michael, LaToya said, has grown lighter over the years because he has lupus, a chronic disorder that causes skin lesions and can be aggravated by the sun.

''He doesn`t want anybody to know he has this disease,'' she said. Indeed, he has never mentioned it publicly. She said Michael was diagnosed 12 years ago. ''He avoids the sun,'' she said, and his skin color has faded as a result.

As for herself, LaToya said, she said she has always been light, so much so that a hospital official mistakenly wrote ''Caucasian'' on her birth certificate.

Making a public display

All that is possible, dermatologists say.

Ronald E. Hall, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, identified the bleaching syndrome in his doctoral thesis in 1989. He said he believes the Jacksons are the most public examples of a widespread self-image problem in the black community.

The phenomenon, he says, is nothing new. He says it has existed since light-skinned slaves first discovered they could get freedom and a world of opportunity by passing for white and distancing themselves from other blacks. Times have changed, but vestiges of the stigma remain, says Alvin Poussaint, who teaches psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and is consultant to ''The Cosby Show.''

''Long gone is the time black people used to put Clorox in the bathwater, trying to bleach the skin. But I think there`s still a little baggage left over psychologically. Particularly in women, light skin is seen as an asset and something attractive and something beautiful,'' Poussaint says.

Back in the 1920s, bleaching creams were advertised this way: ''Lighten your dark skin. Race men and women, protect your future by using Black & White Ointment. Be attractive. Throw off the chains that have held you back from the prosperity that rightly belongs to you.'' Products like these were prevalent into the 1960s.

More than beauty

The preference for light skin is grounded in more than beauty standards, Hall says. He cites a recent study conducted at Virginia Polytechnic Institute showing consistent income and education differences between light- and dark-skinned blacks. His own study in 1988, conducted at two historically black colleges in the South, found that dark-skinned students anticipated lower-paying and lower-skilled jobs than their light-skinned classmates.

''Everything you have between blacks and whites, there`s a representation of it in the black community between dark-skinned blacks and light-skinned blacks. ... Black people who change their features will never tell you they don`t want to be black, but indeed if you talk to them at length it will become apparent.''

And when it happens with superstars, the perception can have harmful effects on kids, Hall says. ''They`re impacted by it before they can realize what`s going on,'' he says. ''They place value on light skin when they`re just mimicking their idols.''

Following Michael`s footsteps

Though the market for lightening procedures has never been big, doctors say it does exist. In addition to the dermabrasion and chemical peels, doctors can prescribe strong doses of an agent called hydroquinone, which inhibits the production of pigment-causing melanin. Melanin makes skin and hair darker.

According to the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, chemical peels for wrinkles or discolorations cost an average of $1,640 and up to $3,000, and a dermabrasion treatment is an average of $1,260 and up to $3,000. A chemical peel to lighten skin would require several follow-up visits and could take a year.

Dr. Larry Landsman, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Miami, says he gets requests once or twice a year from blacks who want to be lighter. Some mention Michael Jackson. Landsman says blacks are the riskiest group for chemical peels because of the unpredictability of results. Sometimes the surgical procedures can cause darker discoloration or splotches rather than lighter skin. Misuse of creams or bleach can damage skin cells and leave permanent marks.

The `hate` factor

Landsman said he`ll suggest using hydroquinone and Retin-A, a cream derived from vitamin A, for a minimum of three months. But he also tries to gauge a person`s motives for wanting to be lighter and warns them that they could end up with a mismatched face and body.

Products with a 2 percent concentration of hydroquinone are sold over the counter to even out skin tone in products such as Ambi, Esoterica and Porcelana. George Andrassy, vice president of research and development at Porcelana, says his product is marketed solely as a skin toner, not a skin lightener. Higher concentrations of hydroquinone are available only with a prescription.

Hall, at the University of Wisconsin, says blacks who try to soften or lighten their black features keep the cycle of self-hatred grinding on.

''It`s one of the most serious problems we have, and I say that because it`s not acknowledged. The first step of treatment for a person who is an alcoholic is to admit there`s a problem. Black people don`t even realize this is a problem,'' Hall says.